Recent paleolimnological research in the eastern Canadian high Arctic on the ecological impact of the Thule c.1000-1500 AD has documented the influence of prehistoric anthropogenic activities. Six lake and pond sites (three pairs) on the south-western coast of Baffin Island, Nunavut, were used to compare impacted and non-impacted sites in the southern-most region of Thule occupation, as well as to compare Thule occupation sites with sites occupied by another early Arctic population group, the Dorset. Tanfield 1 and Tanfield 2 (impacted and control, respectively) are adjacent to several multiple-occupation Dorset sites on Cape Tanfield; Juet 1 and 2 (impacted and control, respectively) are adjacent to a short-term occupation Dorset site on Juet Island; McKellar 1 is adjacent to a multiple-occupation Thule site near McKellar Bay. A nearby site (McKellar 2) was also studied, but it was clearly an anomalous, eutrophic site, rather than a control for McKellar 1. Diatom assemblages and sedimentary 15N profiles were analyzed in sediment cores from all study sites. Selected paired sediment intervals were AMS radiocarbon dated using both humic acids and terrestrial macrofossils in an attempt to establish basal dates for each core. Significant differences between several of the paired AMS radiocarbon dates serve as a cautionary note for dating Arctic sediments using either humic acids or terrestrial macrofossils. Paleolimnological analyses revealed that at both multiple-occupation sites (Tanfield 1 and McKellar 1), the activities of the Dorset and the Thule influenced lake ecology, while at the short-term occupation site (Juet 1), the Dorset occupation was not sufficiently large to have a discernible impact. McKellar 1 showed a greater impact compared to Tanfield 1, consistent with the intense marine mammal hunting by Thule at the former, compared to the moderate marine mammal hunting by Dorset at Tanfield 1. The origin of marine-derived nutrients at McKellar 2 could not be ascertained with certainty. The influence of early Arctic population groups remains obvious in present-day nutrient- and production-related water chemistry variables. This research points to the value of collaborations between paleolimnologists and archaeologists and may provide insight into the future implications of current anthropogenic activities in the Arctic. / Thesis (Master, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2011-10-04 15:52:18.29

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaves 91-99.

Thesis (M.A.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2004. / Bibliography: leaves 85-90.

No / Although military sites have long been the subject of geophysical investigation, those associated with recent military campaigns are noticeably rare. In fact, although such techniques are increasingly used to identify the unwanted legacy of modern warfare, such as unexploded ordnances or mass burials, they have not been used to investigate the archaeology of such conflict. The survey here attempts to identify the archaeology of one military site (Puits d'Herode) that was part of Hitler's Atlantic Wall and to identify the key elements associated with its D-Day defences. Magnetic gradiometry, twin-probe resistance and ground-penetrating radar were used at this site and, as a result of the nature of the buried archaeology, the magnetic technique proved most valuable. Trenches and bunkers previously known from aerial photographs were located accurately and a track believed to relate to the post-D-Day advance of the Allied forces across Puits d'Herode was also identified. The use of geophysical data in the investigation of this site has provided a new avenue to examine previously difficult topics such as the quality of intelligence available at the time of the conflict and the level and accuracy of shelling; although these may seem unlikely targets for archaeological geophysics, they are important to military historians for whom eye witness accounts are becoming increasingly scarce.

Cette recherche consiste en une analyse archéoentomologique portant sur des échantillons prélevés dans trois maisons hivernales inuites d’Oakes Bay 1, dans la région de Nain, au Labrador. L’analyse a deux objectifs : contribuer à la recherche sur la période transitoire critique que traversent les Inuits du Labrador entre le 17e et le 18e siècle, qu’on observe principalement dans un changement structural des maisons hivernales et explorer le potentiel de l’archéoentomologie dans les régions arctiques et subarctiques pour combler les lacunes dans nos interprétations. Une analyse approfondie de l’écologie des insectes indique que les assemblages archéoentomologiques provenant de contextes inuits ne sont pas les plus aptes à étudier les conditions de vie à l’intérieur des maisons. En revanche, ils servent à mieux comprendre l’utilisation de matériaux divers lors de l’occupation hivernale, à discuter du processus de formation du site et à éclairer le processus d’abandon temporaire et permanent de l’habitation hivernale, un aspect critique de l’histoire de l’occupation des sites archéologiques qu’il est difficile d’observer avec les méthodes de terrain conventionnelles. / An archaeoentomological analysis was conducted on sediment samples collected from three Inuit winter houses located at Oakes Bay 1, in the Nain region, Labrador. The analysis’ primary goal is to contribute new perspectives to research concerning the reorganization of Labrador Inuit winter houses and winter households during the 17th and 18th centuries, a significant period of transition in their history. Secondly, the project seeks to explore the potential of archaeoentomology to contribute to archaeology in the Arctic and Subarctic regions. Following an in depth analysis of the ecology of insects collected from Oakes Bay 1, we conclude that archaeoentomological assemblages from Inuit contexts are not well suited for the study of domestic living conditions. Instead, archaeoentomological assemblages were more productively employed to document the use of a variety of food and raw materials in the house, to document site formation and to shed light on temporary and permanent abandonment of winter houses, a critical aspect of the occupation history of all archaeological sites that is difficult to observe through conventional archaeological field methods.

This thesis examines a range of folkloric customs and beliefs that play a pivotal role in Hardy's fiction: overlooking, sympathetic magic, hag-riding, tree ‘totemism', skimmington-riding, bonfire nights, mumming, May Day celebrations, Midsummer divination, and the ‘Portland Custom'. For each of these, it offers a background survey bringing the customs or beliefs forward in time into Victorian Dorset, and examines how they have been represented in written texts – in literature, newspapers, county histories, folklore books, the work of the Folklore Society, archival documents, and letters – in the context of Hardy's repeated insistence on the authenticity of his own accounts of these traditions. In doing so, the thesis both explores Hardy's work, primarily his prose fiction, as a means to understand the ‘folklore' (a word coined in the decade of Hardy's birth) of southwestern England, and at the same time reconsiders the novels in the light of the folkloric elements. The thesis also argues that Hardy treats folklore in dynamic ways that open up more questions and tensions than many of his contemporaries chose to recognise. Hardy portrays folkloric custom and belief from the perspective of one who has lived and moved within ‘folk culture', but he also distances himself (or his narrators) by commenting on folkloric material in contemporary anthropological terms that serve to destabilize a fixed (author)itative narrative voice. The interplay between the two perspectives, coupled with Hardy's commitment to showing folk culture in flux, demonstrates his continuing resistance to what he viewed as the reductive ways of thinking about folklore adopted by prominent folklorists (and personal friends) such as Edward Clodd, Andrew Lang, and James Frazer. This thesis seeks to explore these tensions and to show how Hardy's efforts to resist what he described as ‘excellently neat' answers open up wider cultural questions about the nature of belief, progress, and change.

Ce mémoire présente l’analyse technologique d’un assemblage lithique du Dorsétien récent provenant des Îles Nuvuk au Nunavik. L’approche technologique et la chaine opératoire ont été employées pour définir le système technique des occupants de la maison 3 du site KcFs-2, daté entre 940±20 ans et 970±15 ans AA. Les analyses technologiques ont permis d’aborder une multitude de sphères comportementales en relation avec la technologie lithique dorsétienne de KcFs-2. Celles-ci concernent l’acquisition des matières, la gestion des supports, les intentions de production, les techniques de taille et enfin, les conceptions volumétriques des occupants du site. Dans le but de questionner le cadre chronoculturel en vigueur et de pallier aux manquements de l’approche typologique traditionnellement employée dans l’Arctique de l’est, ces données ont été comparées à celles des sites GhGk-63 (Kuujjuarapik) et Tayara (KbFk-7) ayant servi à définir la période du Dorsétien classique au Nunavik (Desrosiers 2009). L’analyse comparative des systèmes techniques du Dorsétien classique et du Dorsétien récent a permis de mettre en lumière la continuité des traditions techniques dorsétiennes sur une période d’environ mille ans. / This thesis presents the technological analysis of a Late Dorset lithic assemblage from the Nuvuk Islands in Nunavik. The technological approach and the chaine opératoire have been used to define the “technological system” of the occupants of House 3 at KcFs-2, dated between 940±20 and 970±15 BP. The technological analysis has provided information about many spheres of technological behavior related to the acquisition of raw material, to the management of blanks and preforms, to production objectives, to knapping techniques and finally to the “volumetric conceptions’’ of the site’s occupants. In order to question the actual chronocultural framework and to overcome problems associated with the typological approach traditionally used in the Eastern Arctic, this data has been compared to the data from the GhGk-63 (Kuujjuarapik) and Tayara (KbFk-7) sites, which have been use to define the Classic Dorset in Nunavik (Desrosiers 2009). The comparative analysis of Classic Dorset and Late Dorset “technological systems” has shed light on the continuities that characterise Dorset technological traditions over approximatively a millennium.

No description available.

Ce mémoire consiste en une analyse zooarchéologique d’un assemblage faunique provenant d’un site Dorsétien des Îles Nuvuk dans l’Arctique canadien. Les données fauniques ont été analysées statistiquement en appliquant des indices d’utilité économique et des indices de densité des os. Une étude concernant le niveau de conservation de l’assemblage a révélé peu d’évidence de modification taphonomique des spécimens. Les analyses fauniques ont permis d’identifier une stratégie de subsistance de type généraliste et basée sur l’exploitation de mammifères marins, surtout des phoques annelés, pratiquée par les occupants du site de KcFs-2. Une prédominance d’individus immatures (phoques annelés) dans l’assemblage indique une abondance de ressources marines dans les régions du nord de la Baie d’Hudson et du détroit d’Hudson au moment de l’occupation, ce qui est aussi manifeste dans des études antérieures concernant les économies des peuples du Paléoesquimau tardif pour la période donnée. L’occupation du site de KcFs-2 s’est produite durant la période du Dorsétien récent au Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.), et la séquence est définie comme ayant été multi-saisonnière (de l’hiver à l’été). L’analyse des produits de l’industrie osseuse (têtes de harpons et sculptures en ivoire) a permis de confirmer l’affiliation culturelle des occupants. / This thesis presents a zooarchaeological analysis of a faunal assemblage from a Dorset site (KcFs-2) on the Nuvuk Islands in the Canadian Arctic. The faunal data was analyzed through the application of bone density and economic utility indices and bivariate statistical tests. A brief taphonomic study was also undertaken, showing that the assemblage was not heavily affected taphonomically. The faunal analysis revealed a generalized subsistence strategy with an intensified focus on marine mammal exploitation, specifically ringed seals. The predominance of immature ringed seals exposed through the study indicates an abundance of marine resources in the northern Hudson Bay and Hudson Strait regions during the period under study, which correlates well with existing studies concerning Late Palaeoeskimo economy. Occupation of the KcFs-2 site occurred in the Late Dorset period of Nunavik (1500-800 B.P.) and is defined on a multi-seasonal level, from late winter through summer. Analyses of the organic artefact assemblage (harpoon heads and sculpted objects) served to confirm the relative dating of the site and aided in the definition of the cultural affiliation of the inhabitants of the KcFs-2 site.

No description available.